U.S. Born Phenom Ready For the OHL

By Scott Hamburger

May 23rd, 2001

On May 5th, the Mississauga Ice Dogs made 16 year old Patrick O’Sullivanthe first overall pick in this years OHL priority draft. Making him only thesecond USA born player to be selected 1st overall. “This O’Sullivan kid isgonna be something, we watched him play one night in his junior A league andhe was the most dominant player on the ice scoring 2 goals and 2 assists, wedecided right then that he was the best player available in the 1985 draft.”said Ice Dogs GM Don Cherry. While only 16, he’s shown that he has thetalent and the heart to make the jump into the Ontario Hockey League, and hiscompetitive attitude should make the transition easy on him.

Playing with guys a lot older than him will be nothing new to Patrick.This past season O’Sullivan was the youngest on his U.S.A. Development Team(Under-17). In league and international play O’Sullivan lead his team,scoring 33 goals with 51 assists in just 63 games this season. Which wasgood enough to earn him spots on both the NAHL All Star Game and the Allrookie team. “He’s got a great hockey sense and always knows where everyoneis on the ice.” says team mate Greg Goodnough. Although he shows a lot ofmaturity and confidence on the ice, he won’t let his early success get to hishead.“I had an alright year, I’m pretty happy with the way things turned out. Iwould have liked to make the playoffs in the NAHL but winning the gold atChristmas was the best moment of my life.” said O’Sullivan. “Pat has greathands, and can stick handle and make plays at very high speed with his headup. He competes hard and is a great set-up guy but can also put the puckhome.” Said Ryan Whitney of the Under-18 team.

But the past, is the past, and now O’Sullivan is thinking about thefuture. His first OHL training camp is just a few months away, and he seemsas calm as a 4 year veteran of the league. “I am not nervous at all, I’mgoing into my 4th year of junior hockey so the nervousness is basically goneby now.” “I’m really looking forward to this up coming season, I am reallylooking forward to playing with Patrick Jarrett and improving our teamsrecord” said O’Sullivan when asked for his feelings on being drafted by theIce Dogs. That very “team first attitude” is what will help him succeed inwhat he calls “A quicker league in which the players are bigger andstronger.” “I’ll be ready and looking forward to the challenge” addedPatrick. “I feel the OHL is the best developmental league in the world andit best prepares you for the NHL style game.”

Is it his speed, hands, vision, passing, shot or just his great attitudeand confidence that has Ice Dogs GM Don Cherry comparing him to the likes ofSteve Yzerman? It’s a very rare thing to find such a blend of skills,especially from a kid who’s only 16 years old. I only see Patrick improvingwith time because of his love for the sport and he WANTS to learn and getbetter. That might be his MOST important characteristics of all. At thispoint the best thing for him is experience. Keep your eyes and ears open forthe name Patrick O’Sullivan, I have a feeling that you’ll be hearing it a lotfrom now on.